Gophers football: MarQueis Gray could play some Saturday vs. Northwestern

Minnesota Gophers quarterback MarQueis Gray is assisted to the sidelines after an injury in the second quarter of the Sept. 15 game against the Western Michigan Broncos game at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

Jerry Kill cracked a slight smile when asked if keeping Northwestern guessing about Minnesota's quarterback situation was a big advantage.

Of course it is. And Kill said he's "cautiously optimistic" MarQueis Gray can play in certain situations for Minnesota (4-1, 0-1 Big Ten) against Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) on Saturday, Oct. 13.

But wouldn't it be more deceptive if the Gophers coach just said Gray, a senior who practiced Tuesday for the second time in nearly a month, wouldn't play at all -- and Gray did?

"I wouldn't do that," Kill said. "Because then you guys would say that I lied to you. I'm trying to be honest."

As honest as he can be without giving away the game plan. Kill said after practice that Gray's sprained ankle and injured knee was about "60 to 70 percent."

Sophomore Max Shortell is still the starter. Gray is practicing again after being sidelined Sept. 15 against Western Michigan, and the Gophers could go with Gray and Shortell in their homecoming game.

Gray, who started at quarterback the first three games this year, suffered a left high-ankle sprain and had his knee bent awkwardly in the second quarter of a 28-23 win over Western Michigan. He hasn't played since.

"(Gray) didn't practice during the bye week," Kill said. "But Sunday, we did move him around. I pushed him a little bit. And I thought he responded OK. We'll know a little bit more today. He took some reps. We even did a little bit with team reps, but (he) still has a little bit of a limp.

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"If we were playing tomorrow, he wouldn't be ready to play. But we'll see how things progress. I would say we're cautiously optimistic that he can be available in some situations if possible."

Shortell is averaging 172 yards passing a game and has thrown six touchdown passes and four interceptions while leading the team to a 2-1 record in Gray's absence. In his second straight start this season, Shortell completed 20 of 33 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions in a 31-13 Big Ten-opening loss at Iowa on Sept. 29.

Kill isn't saying how much Gray might be able to play, whether it's for a play, series or half. But Shortell said he expects to share time with Gray on Saturday.

"I'm not sure what the game plan is yet, but it's probably going to be something with a two-quarterback system," Shortell said. "It's tough to (know) if MarQueis is going to be healthy or not. Being the backup, you still have to focus like you're going to play every week. You have to game plan like you're going to be the guy anyway, just in case something would happen."

Shortell ignited an offense that stalled before Gray's injury when he threw three touchdown passes in 2-1/2 quarters against Western Michigan. Kill decided to be more aggressive throwing downfield because Shortell is a pocket passer, not a runner like Gray. But the Gophers struggled against Iowa to make plays through the air with receivers dropping balls and running the wrong routes. That made Kill revert to running the ball more with his quarterback (Shortell had a team-high 16 carries for 46 yards). The result was a worn-down Shortell.

But after the bye week, Shortell said the team appears to be adjusting better to him as the quarterback. He also pointed out that he is getting a chance to become more comfortable with his receivers, as well.

"We got a chance to get on point with our receivers," he said. "We had a chance to do a lot more just simple pass completion (drills), throw to receivers more than we would in a normal practice. That extra time really gave us a time to refocus."

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said he expects Gray to start if he is able to play Saturday because Gray was "the guy" before the injury.

"I've been really impressed with how Max has stepped in there and done a lot of great things for them," Fitzgerald said. "Obviously, MarQueis is a great player; he's a difference maker. We'll expect him to play and we'll adjust accordingly."

The Gophers might not be revealing top-secret plans, but players watched Gray return to practice Sunday and "look good out there," wide receiver A.J. Barker said.

"We've had a lot of reps with both quarterbacks," Barker said. "I think the biggest thing for us as a team is to be mature enough to make the most out of whatever situation it is we're taking on. If that's two quarterbacks, we have to continue to carry momentum from possession to possession."